News Releases

RBC commemorates World Water Day with new RBC Letter: "The
Blue Planet"

TORONTO, March 20, 2008 — To commemorate World
Water Day on March 22, RBC has published its first RBC Letter
for 2008, "The Blue Planet", which gives an overview
of the water issues facing the globe today.

RBC Letter has been examining topics related to natural resources
and the environment since 1944 and has been a venerated essay
series produced by RBC since 1920. It is read by people around
the world and had a circulation of more than 600,000 when
it was produced in print. The Letter has been available on
the Internet since 1998.

RBC announced its interest in water with the launch of the
RBC Blue Water Project in October, 2007, a 10-year, $50 million
grant program to support projects dedicated to water conservation,
watershed protection, access to clean drinking water, and
other fresh water-related issues in Canada and around the
world.

In February 2008, RBC convened an advisory panel of international
water experts to help the company develop a strategic approach
for its Blue Water Project activities and recommend key program
eligibility and assessment criteria.

The criteria for the "Leadership Grants" component
of the RBC Blue Water Project will be made public through
rbc.com on Earth Day, April 22, 2008, and proposals will be
accepted after that time. Criteria for the "Community
Action Grants" component will be made public in June,
2008. Under the RBC Blue Water Project, the company has already
committed $10 million to the ONE DROP Foundation and $500,000
to Tides Canada for its Great Bear Rainforest initiative in
British Columbia.